The Glass Heart
by emaline5678
Summary: This story takes place in a slightly AU universe. Instead of staking Morgaline and sending her to the hospital, Beth goes to Coraline's old house to learn about her kidnapping. What if Coraline finds her? Can Mick save her in time? Suspense and romance.
1. Chapter 1

_This is my first attempt at a chapter story. Hopefully this will work out ok. It's actually done, I just need to figure out how to get all the chapters in place. _

_This takes place after "Fleur di lis" - but before Beth attacks Morgaline. Instead, Beth goes to investigate Morgaline at Coraline's old mansion. She finds the truth about her kidnapping, but it has dark consequences. Can Mick save Beth in time before Coraline gets her final plan of revenge? _

_The story is rated a VERY STRONG M. Not for sex, but for wicked violence. Vampires aren't kittens, people. There's also some rough language._

_Still, major Mick/Beth. Enjoy - hopefully I get it all loaded tonight. _

The sun burnt like ruby fire as it traced a path slowly across the California skyline. It splashed angry amber flames against the glass facade of the empty mansion on the hill. Beth could only sit in her car, frozen, as the colors slowly muted and faded with the setting sun. Already she could feel a sort of magnetic pull towards the old house. It may look like an abandoned plaything of the very rich, but she had been there before. She was sure of it. There was no use denying any of it to herself anymore. The feeling of familiarity was ground too deep into her bones.

Slowly, she slipped out of her car, her eyes never leaving the mansion. It seemed to mock her as it stood alone on the green hill top. It stood like an ancient grandfather that had seen a thousand wars in a thousand lifetimes. The bare, blank windows seemed to laugh at her nerve – as if a single human reporter could knock down such an ancient manor.

As Beth stared up at the mansion, she suddenly felt like she was walking into one of those cheap, hokey horror movies where every creak and sigh of the old house was supposed to freak a person out. She could feel every beat of her heart as it thudded loudly through her veins. Her breath seemed to wheeze in and out of her chest as if she had just finished a 20 mile marathon. Knots of fear and panic collided against each other inside of her chest with such force that she wanted to pass out. Her hands shook so violently when she threw her keys into her purse that she had to ball them into tight fists to stop them.

"Knock it off, Beth," she muttered to herself. The sound of her voice in the eerily quiet countryside made her jump. "You gotta keep calm. Running screaming into the street will totally ruin your street cred."

Beth tried to laugh at her lame joke, but found her mouth was too dry to form the right sounds. She took one last deep breath and looked up at the shimmering glass house.

"Just plant one foot in front of the other," she mumbled softly.

It wasn't the fact that she was about to break into the old empty house or that she was about to snoop all over the place for clues that freaked her out. She'd done those things to other people's homes more times than she'd like to admit while working a case. No, this time was different on every level. This was _the_ house. The place she was taken after she was kidnapped as child. She didn't even have to step one foot inside to recognize it. It was more of a feeling than a memory…and it frightened her to the core.

Beth slowly inched up the green hillside towards the glass mansion, her fear still spinning round and round inside of her chest. Over twenty years ago, she had been taken to this house, this hell pit on earth. Twenty years ago, a woman in white named Coraline had wanted to create her own little make believe family. Twenty years ago, she was first introduced to vampires in the most frightening way possible. Twenty years ago, she was almost turned by a vindictive bitch but was saved in the knick of time by her own knight in shining armor. Today, said vindictive bitch was supposedly alive and well posing as a human, while Beth's vampire savior was – well – Beth didn't know what to call Mick anymore. Friend? Lover? Partner? Mistake? Soul Mate?

She shook her head as she finally reached the outer door of the glass manor. The thought of Mick St. John caused a thousand waves of emotion to hit her already overwhelmed heart. They caused her head to spin even faster than the panic. She didn't have the energy to delve into her true feelings about Mick at that moment. She had enough crap to sift through at present, thank you very much. All that she was certain of was that all her answers lay inside the fragile house on the hill. She would learn the truth of her abduction today – whether the answers would make her feel sane again, she didn't know.

Throwing a few furtive glances towards the driveway and surrounding hills, Beth quickly fished out her tools and began to unlock the door. The latch opened with a quiet _snap_ that seemed to echo through the evening air. She froze and waited for the crickets and other insects to begin singing in the early night, but no sound came. The area continued to be as deathly quiet as when she arrived. _Way creepy_, Beth thought. After deciding that no one was going to come racing towards her with guns raised – or fangs bared - Beth opened the door completely. She inhaled sharply and looked towards the drive again. The coast was indeed clear, but she still couldn't shake the sudden urge to bolt.

Beth slipped into the silent mansion, her feet barely making noise as she treaded over the pristine white shag carpet. She knew she had a few hours to kill anyway before Morgan or Coraline or whatever-the-hell-her-name-was came crawling back to her secret hideout. Beth had told Mick to put his private eye skills to work and keep the new photographer busy on a case so Beth could snoop around Morgan's past. Mick had agreed a little too hastily which hadn't exactly helped soothe Beth's raw nerves. It also didn't help that the woman who had kidnapped her as a child was Mick's ex-wife. He had murdered her once to save Beth and yet, the woman was back in town pretending to be a human – named Morgan. If only Beth could prove it to everyone – including Mick.

She tiptoed around the living room, her unease increasing by the minute. Beth's reporter instincts hadn't quite bought Morgan's Chicago photographer background. Her jealous heart really hadn't swallowed the story when she saw how worked up Mick had become around Morgan. She had known Mick long enough to know that only one woman could make him so frenzied and lustful. Mick and his friend Josef both swore that Morgan could not be Coraline the vampire, but Beth wasn't buying any of it. She was going to prove once and for all that Morgan was Coraline – the woman who had destroyed her childhood. Now that her mind was finally remembering the face of her kidnapper, there was no way in hell Beth was about to let the bitch skip around town free as a bird.

Her growing quest for vengeance wasn't really about her feelings for Mick. Well, at least not all of it. After finally realizing he was her guardian angel, her heart had filled with such complex emotions, she had forgotten to breathe at times. It was something she knew she had never felt for another man – not even her boyfriend, Josh. She was too afraid to admit what those emotions might mean. To put them into words – especially in front of Mick – might drive them away like memories in the wind. Her heart was too fragile at the moment for that kind of truth. It didn't help things that Mick continued to follow Morgan/Coraline around like a lost puppy dog. If he was so hot for her, why didn't he just marry her all over again? Then the two of them could have their sick, twisted love affair for the rest of freaking eternity.

Beth swallowed down the sharp, bitter stab of jealousy that pierced her heart at the image of Mick and Coraline…_together_. She blinked back the sudden tears and marched towards the nearest object in the room – a wooden writing desk.

Fighting down the urge to rip out Coraline's heart, Beth reached for the nearest manila envelope and flipped it open. Sudden ice dropped into her veins with a splash.. Her fingers began to shake like old leaves in the autumn wind as she flipped through the contents of the folder. With a shudder of horror, she threw the folder onto the floor. The pictures inside flew from her hands to rain like acid onto the snow white carpet.

The pictures were of Beth…and Mick. Dozens of them – together!

The pictures were now scattered all over the floor like memories ripped out of her mind. Coraline had been stalking them for months! Beth stared at them in horror as she recognized each picture. It was like her life had suddenly been snatched away from her and put on display in some sick freak show. Why would anyone want to stalk the two of them? Beth gasped for air and tried to remember breathe. There had to be only one explanation. It had been scuttling around the back of her brain for weeks, but there had been no proof before. She had never been surer of anything in her life. She could now say it out loud and let the words hang in the air like harsh barbs.

"Morgan _is_ Coraline," Beth cried, her voice coming out as a hoarse croak. She had known – suspected – but had never been completely sure. Yet, now all the pieces seemed to have locked into place and engraved themselves into stone. Morgan was Coraline, Coraline was a vampire and –

Abruptly Beth turned towards the winding white staircase that led to the upper levels of the mansion. She could feel her body almost being pulled towards those stairs. It was as if she knew all her answers would lie at the top of those stairs. They would all be laid out before her in crystal clear VistaVison for her to enjoy for many, many years to come. If she turned back now, she could still maybe move on with her life. Somehow deal with Coraline and get some kind of peace of mind. Yet, she knew, deep down that it was already too late. It was too late to just rewind time and pretend that she hadn't been kidnapped as a child. She had been playing that game for 20 years. It was time to finally face the truth – no matter how much it may sting or scar. It was time to learn all the answers, all the clues, all the questions to her kidnapping, Coraline _and_ Mick.

Taking one last breath to try and unsuccessfully calm herself, Beth stepped over the purloined photos and headed towards the darkened staircase.


	2. Chapter 2

The convertible whisked down the highway as if racing the setting sun. It weaved between lanes unmindful of the late commuter traffic. The sun blinked fiery orbs onto the black mustang as it hugged every curve and cranny on the highway. The last rays of the sun bounced off the rearview window, causing small bursts of light to dance in the eyes of all who followed the mustang.

The driver sighed with contentment as the sweet, warm California breeze fluttered through her long dark hair as she drove deeper into the hills. A funky, upbeat dance tune pulsed through her speakers and she grooved a bit to the music. She inhaled the fall breeze with a small smile and enjoyed the last warmth of the sun on her body.

Coraline's smile deepened into a smirk as she adjusted the rear view mirror. Why shouldn't she be having the time of her life? The wheels of her grand plan were finally beginning to turn in motion after twenty long years of waiting in the shadows. She licked her lips in anticipation of the final, agonizing downfall of her ex-husband, Mick St. John. She couldn't wait to see the last look of understanding – the last thought in his brain as he realized he had been right all along. She wasn't some doppelganger photographer. She was the great courtesan, Coraline, back from the dead with a vengeance. Only this time, she was holding all the aces up her sleeve. She couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he learned she actually was human now – well, after a fashion anyway. She clenched her hands around the steering wheel as she pictured the panicked, insane way he would beg her for the answer, the cure to vampirism.

She hadn't decided if she'd tell him before or after she chopped off his goddamn head. Then he'd finally learn the most important lesson of all – no one ever messes with Coraline and lives long to brag about it.

Laughing under her breath, Coraline took the final turns up into the hills. Her hair fluttered into her eyes like the wings of frantic crows – or crying bats. She frowned and tucked what she could behind her ears. Ever since she had become human, the threat of death always seemed to linger behind her at the echo of every footstep. It was like she could feel death mocking her finally after all these centuries. She had denied it for so long and now it was licking at her heels. She could almost feel Death's cold whisper against the back of throat most nights. She would then wake up shivering and drenched in sweat as the nightmare flashes assaulted her senses like a bad acid trip. She had come so close to dying that night she lured Mick with the child. That night she had been so close to starting over…and being silenced forever.

Coraline shuddered as she pulled onto the final gravel driveway. Nearly dying was an experience she'd rather not have ever again. No doubt Mick would get to experience the entire floor show soon enough. She would stay and watch until every bone had turned to ash in the fire. She would make sure every molecule of that traitor was incinerated before she turned her back on him. He should have done the same with her. Alas, like all men he had underestimated her staying power. And like most men, it would be his final mistake on this earth.

She laughed, a bitter rich laugh that trailed over her shoulder. Revenge definitely was a bitter pill.

The laugh quickly died in her elegant throat as she spied the white Neon parked at the end of the glass mansion's driveway. Behind the ebony sunglasses, Coraline's dark eyes narrowed in suspicion. _Whose fucking car was that?_

Quickly, Coraline parked her Mustang behind the Neon. She opened her door, allowing her long lean legs to slip out. With quick steps and her hips swaying like a model on a catwalk, Coraline marched up to the parked car.

Coraline had been a vampire for too many centuries to completely tone down her senses. She could still hear sights and sounds from miles away. The longer a vampire lived, the stronger their senses became until the vampire became more and more like a god rather than a monster. Too bad she rarely tuned into those super heightened senses of hers nowadays. Then again, it wouldn't have taken a rocket scientist to realize whose car it was that sat in her driveway.

"Beth Turner," Coraline hissed, her voice low and mellow like a cat. She had smelled the nosy reporter the second she stepped out of her car. Well, well. The Blonde Bombshell had finally put all the pieces together. Took her long enough, Coraline thought with a snort. Maybe if she had laid the human routine on just as thick for Beth, she would have still been as clueless as Mick. Even working so closely on the Haggans case hadn't awakened his senses yet. _More fun for me_, she thought with a grin.

The sneer faded as she looked again at her ancient house. She should have sold the damn thing years ago. Yet, there were so many memories locked between its fragile walls. One night was still vividly clear in her mind – the night she finally let Mick catch her. He had paced back in forth in front of her wall of windows like a drunken wild cat. The lust was practically dripping out of his pores as he stared at her through those innumerable glass windows. She had to admit, her heart had taken a final leap into her throat when he threw that poolside chair into the glass, shattering it and many of her defenses. Most men would have given her up after the first few brush offs. But long ago she had learned Mick was not like other men.

Long ago she had fallen in love with the sexy, funny, sweet musician. He had caused her heart to tingle with an internal fire that had terrified her and electrified her at the same time. After centuries of living as a lonely vampire, she had finally begun to feel something close to true, pure happiness.

She paused on the sidewalk in front of the old manor. Her elegant forehead wrinkled into a frown and her shoulders seemed to sag under the weight of her 400 years. She suddenly felt as ancient as her soul. She had been so sure Mick had felt the same way for her. She had felt the fire in his touch whenever they made love. She could read the depths of his love in his soulful blue eyes. Yet, the minute she had finally revealed her final, most intimate secret and given him the most precious gift of eternity - he had spit her love back into her face.

Coraline sighed and placed her sunglasses onto the top of her head. Mick had never forgiven her for turning him into a vampire. He hadn't been one long enough to appreciate the powers, the immortality, the excitement of the vampire life. He would one day. She had thought to give him – no, practically _beg_ him – for one more chance. She had kidnapped Beth just for that reason – a chance to let them finally have that happily ever after. Instead, he had welcomed her back with a torch and gasoline. Not only did he burn her body that day, but he finally killed her love for him. Now she felt only cold, burning hate in the space where her dead heart used to lay.

No matter. She would get her revenge soon enough. Revenge may be a cruel, cool bitch, but it was all she needed to keep a girl warm at night.

Coraline walked towards the front door, the wind causing her short skirt and black trench coat to flutter around her bare legs. Quickly, she slipped her key into the lock and silently snuck into the house. She grimaced as she shut the door behind her. Beth's sweetly sick smell was all over the house. She must have looked over every square inch for clues about her past. A girl had to admire her perseverance – even if it was annoying.

Pitching her coat and purse quietly into a nearby chair, Coraline eyed the living area. The room didn't look as if it had been disturbed that much. She let her eyes drift over the fluffed pillows and designer knickknacks. Abruptly, her black eyes locked onto the desk pushed into the corner of the room.

Coraline quickly rushed towards the desk, anger building inside of her. If that little bitch ruined her plans…. With a small cry, Coraline slammed her graceful fist against the top of the desk. The pictures of Beth and Mick were all over the floor, scattered like fall leaves from the trees. As soon as Beth saw those, Coraline knew it wouldn't take long for Nancy Drew to officially put together the pieces and call Mick. Then when _he_ found out she wasn't some chick named Morgan, but actually Coraline –

"But I'm not ready!" she hissed in frustration.

Suddenly, she heard movement upstairs. A muffled thump. Coraline snapped her head towards the noise. It seemed to be coming from the attic. She wasn't alone.

With a growl, Coraline yanked open the top desk drawer and pulled out a dagger she kept hidden inside. It was an ancient thing – some knife she had picked up from the French Revolution – but it would get the job done. Clutching the cold blade in her palm, she started for the white wooden stairs.

Suddenly, Coraline paused with one elegant foot on the bottom stair. A slow smile crept onto her face as she listened to the noise from upstairs.

"Oh, it's too perfect!" she whispered, choking out a laugh as her malicious mind went into overdrive.

She could easily kill Beth with a flick of her wrist. One slash of the dagger and Beth Turner would be a forgotten stain on her alabaster carpet. Yet, if she tortured the girl, prolonged her death, perhaps drained her dry – that would kill Mick faster than any bonfire blaze. She had watched the pair long enough to know how much they meant to each other. It wasn't on the passionate level of her and Mick's marriage, but there was something between them. There was some irritating spark of humanity that buzzed between Mick and Beth – something deeper than sex – something deeper than love even. She had felt that connection long before Mick halfheartedly denied it that day at BuzzWire. He always had had a thing for the human girls, Coraline thought with a wry smile.

Fine. If he was so wrapped up in Beth – though what the human could offer him, Corlaine did not know – let _her_ be his downfall. Let Beth be the one to kill him. Let her death be the means to Mick's own demise. Let him find Coraline sucking every last drop of blood out of that precious fragile human. Let him find her nearly dead corpse and try and save her. Coraline doubted he had the balls to turn Miss Blondie 2007 to save her. He would then have to watch his young love die while Coraline stood waiting in the shadows. She would stand by and watch the horror and guilt wash over Mick. He would then be ready for the final flick of the match or slice of the dagger blade. At least then she would have severed his last link to humanity in one final attack. The traitor would finally be able to taste the death he had craved for so long after becoming vampire. Coraline would see that he enjoyed every last agonizing second.

Slowly, Coraline crept up the stairs, dragging the knife against the railing behind her. The blade _clicked_ against each wooden railing like claws on a window pane. She didn't care now if Beth heard her coming or not. Let the child make a run for the stairs or the window. Coraline hadn't had a good chase scene in a long time. It would do her good to flex her lean, tough muscles.

As Coraline neared the attic door, her smile suddenly deepened. Her tongue flicked out to caress her suddenly elongated porcelain fangs. Good thing she had skimped on her pills that morning. She was going to need every ounce of her strength to get through this day – the final day – the first day of the rest of her eternity.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," she murmured, reaching her long hand towards the brass knob of the attic door.


	3. Chapter 3

It hadn't taken long for Beth to find the hidden attic in Coraline's mansion. Her feet had led her automatically up the stairs towards the darkened hallway at the very top floor. Her brain had defiantly stopped working at the top of the elegant staircase, but her feet had continued on. Her entire body was shivering from anticipation. It was as if her soul was crying out for her to break through the last clouds of fog in her memories. Already she felt like she knew the answer, she could touch it with the tips of her fingernails. Yet, she had to actually _see_ it with her own eyes. She had to physically experience it all again for her brain to finally kick in completely and let her confront her past. She had to physically find that proof that Coraline was the woman who kidnapped her as child. Circumstantial evidence wouldn't be enough to heal her completely.

Biting her lip, she watched her hand violently shake as it reached out towards the brass knob on the attic door. She slammed her eyes shut as her hand turned the knob. _Please, let it be locked_, she begged in her mind. Not that a locked door would have stopped her at this point.

The door opened easily under her touch. There was no creak in the hinges, no groan from the floor boards. Instead, a deadly quiet silence continued to rein around Beth. For some reason, that was infinitely more frightening than any horror movie cliché she had expected.

Beth struggled to swallow the lump of fear in her throat as she opened the door wider. The musky smell of memories invaded her senses as a slap of cool air hit her face. The fear in her stomach began to circle like a runaway carnival ride, making her wish she had found the bathroom instead of the attic. She reached her trembling hand slowly inside of the pitch black room. Blindly, her hand spider-walked up the wall, looking for any source of familiarity. The black abyss in front of her was beginning to scare her more and more as each second passed. She suddenly knew for certain that Coraline had come home and that she was creeping up behind her, fangs bared. If she only turned her head a fraction of an inch, she would be able to see the pale face of her nightmares.

Suddenly, her struggling hand found the light switch and her eyes were dazzled with bright white light. Beth jumped back and instinctively shielded her eyes againstthe sudden glare. It took a few minutes for her to fight back the violent urge to run blindly into the street like a screaming idiot. Her mind had become a blank vault of fear that she had never unlocked before. She had never been this frightened before – even after while being attacked by various wackos over the past few months. She was aware again of how alone she was in the seemingly empty glass house. What an idiot she was to show up alone. Did anyone even know where she was? God, did she remember to tell Mick or even Josh?

"Get control, Beth," she growled to herself. Taking another deep breath, she curled her small hands into fists and slammed them against her thighs. This was no time to panic. She had come this far to learn the truth – it would all be for nothing if she didn't follow the rabbit hole through to the end.

Feeling halfway in control of her brain again, Beth took small steps into the hidden room. Her mouth dropped open into an "O" of surprise as her horrified eyes took in every inch of the room. Like the other rooms of the house, it was a white immaculate shrine that no human had touched in years. Like any child's bedroom, it was crammed with toys, clothes and other playthings. Every inch of space held some kind of toy or stuffed animal. Even the white bed was covered with teddy bears and pillows. It screamed at her like a Norman Rockwell snapshot of childhood, but Beth knew it was a lie. Her eyes glazed over in tears as she numbly walked over towards the bed. She collapsed onto it and blindly grabbed the nearest teddy bear. This was the room where Coraline had held her hostage all those years ago.

Harsh sobs rocked Beth's body as the memories wrenched free from the final old cobwebs. The flashbacks were as clear as if she had experienced them only the day before. She remembered every color, every shadow of those terrifying few days. Every horrifying emotion she had experienced as a frightened four year old now came back to her in raw demented detail. She could only clutch the old brown teddy bear to her chest as the rush of memories overwhelmed her already heightened senses.

Coraline was the one who had snatched Beth from her home in the middle of the night twenty years earlier. Beth had been blissfully unaware of the ancient vampire that had crept into her room that night. One minute she had been dreaming innocent dreams, the next she had found herself imprisoned in Coraline's long arms. Fear had overwhelmed Beth immediately. She could only watch the night streak by as Coraline took her farther and farther away from the safety of home. Young Beth had felt so powerless in those steel arms that all she could do was cry and pray that it was all a strange nightmare.

Beth had no idea how long she had been held hostage as a child. Even as an adult, the memories felt too long and painful to compromise only a few days. Those days were mainly spent locked in the overstuffed bedroom, waiting for Coraline's step on the stair. Every time she came into the attic, Beth would clam up in sheer terror. The madwoman would lean over her and coo to her about starting a family. Beth was safe because she now had a new mother and would soon have a new father. Yet, Beth was no fool. She wanted nothing to do with the terrifying monster. She felt no warmth, no kindness from Coraline, even though her words were as sweet as candy. She only wanted to go back home to the safety of her real mother and father.

As Beth sat in the present, she remembered how she had waited and longed for the police to come crashing through the door and rescue her. Young Beth found herself listening not just for Coraline's step, but the high-pitched scream of an approaching police siren. She had waited and begged for her prince to come rescue her. She felt more and more like the forgotten princess in the tower as the hours blended into days and she still remained locked in the attic bedroom. It wasn't until Coraline had taken Beth to an old abandoned house that Beth's prince finally came to rescue her from a dark and twisted hell.

A sudden gush of warmth flooded Beth's heart with such ferocity her sobs cut off with a violent jerk. Mick. If it hadn't been for Mick, she would not be alive to this day. She would not have become a successful reporter with a healthy, happy outlook on life. She would not have felt safe enough to block out that awful kidnapping and move on with her life.

"Mick," Beth breathed, raising her eyes to the ceiling. _He_ was her handsome prince, her white knight, her guardian angel. He was the one who had protected her over the years. She had known it for a while now, but was now no longer afraid to admit it. It didn't matter that he considered himself a monster. It didn't matter to her. She realized now that she was no longer afraid to admit her real feelings. Every wall and barrier had been knocked clear the minute she had walked through that attic door. There was no longer any reason to kid herself. She loved him. She loved him with every fiber cell of her being.

Suddenly, she felt like the world's biggest idiot. Sure, she had finally solved the darkest mystery of her past, but at what cost? Her burning jealousy of Morgan/Coraline had pushed her onto this path. She had wanted to destroy Morgan in some way so that Mick would see that she was not the woman she claimed to be. He would finally see through all her lies and maybe finally find a bit of peace – find a measure of closure. Yet, had her meddling only pushed him farther away…and into Coraline's arms?

Beth abruptly lurched towards the floor and retched up her small lunch. She had a sudden horrifying fear that she had ruined the one constant in her life. Had her blind pursuit of Coraline finally pushed Mick away from her? He had been slowly inching away from her as if his mere presence would shatter her. He handled her like the world's most fragile stone, no matter how loud she protested. She wanted only to be with him, but would her tactics force him back into Coraline's arms? Would he then want to stay there? Would he rather be with a vampire than a human? What if that was where he truly belonged?

As a different kind of fear clutched Beth's heart with fingers of steel, she lunged for the door. She had only taken a step before she realized the way was blocked. She looked up and froze. A river of ice dropped directly into her veins, causing her to shiver with fear. It was as if her memories had stepped straight out of her mind to terrorize her in real life.

"Coraline."


	4. Chapter 4

"Hello, Beth," Coraline simpered. She leaned her elbow casually against the door frame and planted her other hand onto her hip. Beth barely registered that the hand on her hip gripped a dagger between her long fingers.

"Mick was right all along," Beth breathed. Fear still kept her rooted in her tracks. The ice in her veins collided with her heart, turning it into one giant iceberg of terror.

"But I still fooled him in the end," Coraline said, grinning slightly. With a start, Beth noticed the sharp fangs in her smile.

"I thought you really were human though."

"A temporary fix," Coraline murmured. "I always knew it would be. I only planned to be human long enough to screw with Mick. I'd win him back to me and then -"

She raised the dagger and mimed slicing her throat.

Beth stared at the vampire as a new emotion began to thaw the ice around her heart. Something hot and fiery that could blind her just as easily as fear. It bubbled inside of her like a growing lava flow of hate and anger. She felt it grow larger and larger until she thought she would combust. She stared at the woman who could destroy both her childhood and future.

"You _are_ out to kill Mick," Beth said. It wasn't a question.

"Why else would I come back to this hell hole? It's not for the food, believe me. _That_ hasn't changed in over 400 years," Coraline said with a snort.

"Why can't you just leave him alone?" Beth cried, her eyes suddenly watering. Curling one hand into a fist, she fought back the sudden moisture. Now was definitely not the time to show weakness. She had shed enough tears in front of Coraline as a child – she wasn't about to shed one drop more.

"Can't you see he doesn't want to _be_ with you anymore? Can't you just let him go – live his own life? It's bad enough you cursed him with being a vampire. Now you can't get your claws out of him."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Coraline cried, moving from the door. She took a step closer into the room, her tall figure towering over Beth's smaller one. Beth bravely stood her ground, her teeth clenched tightly together. Her face remained as cool as stone, but her heart was racing like a blazing bonfire.

"Now you're suddenly a goddamn vampire expert?" Coraline cried. She looked Beth up and down and scoffed. "I bet he hasn't touched you. Such a gentleman – wouldn't want to accidentally hurt you in any way."

"I know enough that he doesn't want you."

"Then why did he ask for my help today? Why does he keep calling me? Face it, Beth. He _wants_ to be with me again. He _wants_ to fuck me again. I can feel it dripping out of his pores. He may have divorced me and tried to kill me, but he'll never get rid of me."

Coraline's words stung Beth's heart like the shock of a live wire and she involuntarily winced. Coraline's words felt too much like truth to her. Beth was no fool – she had seen the way Mick had changed around Morgan/Coraline. He had chased after her like a love sick fool. His eyes had never looked at Beth with pure lust like he looked at Coraline. It drove stakes straight into the core of Beth's heart, but she couldn't let it affect her now. She refused to let any other emotion slip pass her remarkably calm exterior. She had to remember - _this_ was the woman who ruined her childhood. _This_ was the woman who had destroyed hundreds of lives over the centuries. No way would she let Coraline destroy any more.  
"He won't go back to you," Beth whispered through stiff lips. Her jealousy gnawed at her insides, but deep inside the secret chambers of her heart Beth knew the truth. Mick looked at Coraline as a starving man eyed a rain puddle. Mick's friend Josef had once said Mick was addicted to Coraline like an addict to heroin. He may have still craved her body, but he didn't want her out of love. He couldn't love a woman who would kill a child to get a man. Besides, Beth hadn't missed the look of love in his eyes when he gazed at _her_. It was not full of lust and lechery and sin. It was deeper, sweeter, more meaningful. She had felt the taste of that stronger emotion of love on his lips once. No, he couldn't still be in love with that vampire bitch anymore.

"You know, I had my plan all worked out," Coraline hissed. She paced slightly in front of Beth, but never turned her back on the human. "I'd come back into town, sneak my way back into Mick's life and then utterly destroy him. But who should happen to be standing in my way? You– the little wayward brat that almost got me killed twenty years ago. Since you were in his life, it was a lot harder to gain his attention again. It's kind of pervy if you think about it, you know."

"I'm glad you're back in town," Beth bit out, the anger beginning to bubble slowly again to the surface. Her entire body trembled like a mountain seconds before an eruption. "If you hadn't come back, I would never have remembered."

"Bully for you."

"I would never have remembered that you were the monster who kidnapped me as a child."

"And now I'll be the one who kills the man you love. Don't worry, Beth. He won't even feel a thing. In a few years, you won't even remember his name."

"Not if I can help it," Beth growled. Suddenly the anger erupted in her brain like a blaze from hell and she made her move. She dove for a nearby small white wooden chair and smashed it to the floor. She snatched one of the legs off the floor and lunged for Coraline. Unfortunately, even without weakened powers, Coraline was still faster. She quickly back handed Beth across the jaw, knocking the reporter to the floor.

Beth gasped as warm blood gushed into her mouth. She coughed up the blood, grimacing at the fresh iron taste. Her hands grasped for anything in reach that could inflict pain. Instead, she again received pain as Coraline planted a foot onto one of her grasping hands, piercing the skin with her pointed boot heel.

Coraline chuckled as Beth cried out in pain. She struggled to free her hand, but the vampire was still too strong for her.

"You know, I see why he likes you," she cried, throwing the dagger back and forth between her hands. "You've got some fight in you. Too bad it's still not enough to take on me. I do have to thank you though. As soon as I smelled you in the house, my plan to kill Mick suddenly improved for the better. You see, as soon he knows you're dead, he'll be more than willing to cut his off his own head."

"Bitch!" Beth cried and snaked a hand around Coraline's leg. She tried to push it off of her hand, but the vampire still refused to move. She simply dug her heel harder into Beth's hand, causing the girl to scream with pain. Beth could actually hear her bones crunch under the Prada boot heel.

"Language!" Coraline cried, sinking into a crouch. "You need to save your strength, Beth. You're going to need it. Because with what I have planned for you, you're going to be screaming for _days_."

Beth struggled again to free herself. Coraline shrugged as if Beth were merely a dying roach under her heel.

"Have it your way, baby," Coraline hissed. She lowered the dagger to Beth's cheek, slowly outlining it with the very tip of the blade. It barely scratched the porclein surface. "But I'd really like to have Mick hear your very last scream."

"No!" Beth shouted.

"Oh, yes." Coraline cried. She abruptly threw her head back and deeply sniffed the air around her. "God, did anyone ever tell you that you smell like heaven on a Sunday? No wonder Mick's obsessed with you. I wonder if you taste just as intoxicating."

"No! No, no!" Beth screamed, shaking her head violently. She tried to pull away as far as her pinned hand would allow her. Undaunted, Coraline bared her fangs and lunged for Beth's throat.


	5. Chapter 5

Mick St. John felt his body begin to finally relax as the sun slipped again below the horizon. Even though the sun could not turn a vampire directly into a pile of cat liter, it still made him nervous to be in it. Now that night had finally lowered its black veil over the city, he could finally feel a certain measure of peace. The fact that he felt a degree safer in the moonlight did not brighten his mood. Instead, it was as dark as the night sky.

Irritably, he sat forward in his mustang and flipped a switch on his dashboard. The top of his mustang swiftly lowered behind him until Mick felt the cool night breeze brush softly through his hair. He slipped off his sunglasses and threw another look at the apartment on the fourth floor.

If Beth wasn't creeped out by his stalking habits when she was a child, she would be when she learned how long he had sat in front of her apartment building. All because he was too much of a coward to actually get his ass out of the car and walk up the steps towards her apartment. If he did that, it meant he'd have to see her and talk to her. Both things would prove to be rather problematic after the events of the day.

Mick wearily ran a hand over his face. He should never have let Beth talk him into working with Morgan. She was bound and determined to prove to Mick that Morgan was actually his long dead ex-wife. It didn't matter how much Mick protested that Morgan was human – Beth was tenacious as always. If she only knew how much Mick had _wanted_ to see Morgan again….No, the obvious jealousy on her face today when she saw them together was enough to cut him deeper than any vampire claw. How would she look at him when she learned that he and Morgan had kissed? Mick thrust the thought away as a deep physical pain shook his insides hard enough to make him feel dizzy. God, how could he have been such a fucking idiot?

It didn't help that he was no clearer about his feelings for Morgan than before they had worked together on the Haggans case. The woman looked _so_ much like Coraline – and yet, she ate food, drank wine and embraced the sunlight. There was no way that Coraline could come back as a human – it was physically impossible. Then what explained the toxic, frantic way his heart beat around Morgan? He was beginning to think of her in the same sick, lustful way he had thought of Coraline. With Coraline, that love had scorched him like a wildfire. Their love had left everything in their wake barren and blank. Mick was still surprised Josef was still friends with him after Coraline. There was no way Mick would _want_ that kind of relationship again. He hadn't even missed it once after he torched Coraline to save Beth.

_Beth_. Mick looked up again towards the darkened apartment windows. He knew now why he hadn't missed Coraline's hot, venomous love. The minute he saved Beth, his heart would never be swayed into such a destructive direction. It wasn't until he met Beth again in person a few months ago that he realized how much he had fallen in love with her. It wasn't the lethal passion of Coraline. It didn't sink into his body and eat away at his mind like a cancer. Instead, Beth's love made him feel happy, free, _alive_. He knew now he loved and craved her on a hundred different levels – including his long-forgotten soul. It just felt so good, so right, so _normal_ to love her. He found his day wasn't complete until he had at least talked to her for a few minutes. His love for Beth was a crimson rose blossom, its petals extended to soak up every inch of her.

Impulsively, Mick grabbed for his cell phone. He couldn't stand the constant boxing match of emotions in his head anymore. He had to hear her voice. He had to tell her what happened. Even in anger, her voice was still as sweet as honey to his ears.

Mick frowned in confusion. He pulled the phone slowly away from his ear. The girl kept her phone on 24 hours a day in case her boss called her about a breaking news story. It was practically implanted into her hand. Instead he only reached her voicemail.

Mick dialed another number as a feeling of dread began to drip into his stomach.

"Buzz Wire," a voice chirped into the phone. Mick winced. No way should anyone be that perky at seven o'clock at night.

"Yes, hi. Beth Turner, please."

"One moment, sir," the operator chirped again. Mick rolled his eyes. No one could pay him that much to be that chipper. Absent mindedly he rubbed his stomach and peeked at the stretch of street behind him. Maybe Beth had parked her car behind him and he hadn't noticed.

"Sorry, sir. She's not here. Would you like to leave a message for her?"

"Never mind. Thank you." Mick replied, disconnecting the call. The dread had begun to form a nice ball of spikes in the pit of his stomach. He didn't like that feeling one bit. The last time he had felt such dawning panic was when he had realized the serial killer turned vampire Shepard was on his way to Mick's apartment…and Beth…with murder on his mind.

Quickly, Mick jumped out of his car. He held his hand out to stop traffic as he crossed the street. Hell, she could yell at him later. He had to know where she was - even if she was at her boyfriend, Josh's . Mick snorted as he punched in her security code. Funny how he hadn't even thought of that idea until now. For some reason, he never thought Josh had a very big role in Beth's life these days. Dismissing all thoughts of Beth's very real boyfriend, Mick took the stairs two at a time until he reached Beth's floor.

The dread in Mick's stomach ballooned to gargantuan size as soon as he stopped in front of Beth's door. He only had to take one whiff of air to know she hadn't been home for hours. Where the hell was she?

Mick pulled out his lock pick kit and worried the lock on her door. He did not like being in the dark about Beth one minute. She could be at the movies for all he knew and here he was pulling a cat burglar trick. Yet, he couldn't shake off the sudden foreboding that had quickly enshrouded his dead heart. Something was very wrong with Beth.

As soon as he was inside of her apartment, Mick began to pace through it like a tiger pacing in a cage. He prowled from one corner of the place to another, unmindful of the dark. His vampire eyes could see through any shadow of the night. There was no sign of a struggle or a break in, he noted. He also realized he could barely sense Josh's presence in the apartment. Mick snorted. The lawyer hadn't been here in a couple of weeks. Mick's heart lifted slightly at the thought that Josh could be no more in Beth's life when his eyes landed on her laptop computer.

He quickly edged around her gray metal desk. Pictures, papers and folders were scattered about her desk like forgotten trash. How she got any work done, Mick did not know. His musings suddenly stopped with a _snap_ when one picture caught his eye.

His blood turned to frost as he gazed at the photograph, his body too horrified to move. He registered that his hand was trembling, but he couldn't stop it. He slowly reached out to pick up the fragile photograph. Suddenly everything made horrible, awful sense. His whirlwind of thoughts and emotions over the last couple of weeks slammed to an abrupt standstill.

"Beth was right the whole time," Mick whispered. In his hand was a black and white picture of himself circa 1952. He remembered the night that photo had been taken. It was the night his sad, twisted history began – the night he met Coraline.

The sick truth crashed down around him like shards of glass from the mansion he and Coraline had shared as a couple. He could practically feel the sharp pieces cutting into his heart. Morgan _was_ Coraline. Oh, it was perfect. He could see her entire plan now from the beginning in bright, bold capital letters. He should have followed his gut instincts and killed the bitch as soon as he set eyes on her again. It didn't matter if she was human or not. Somehow she had crawled out of some hellish bog and found a way to come back and haunt him. She had pretended to be someone else to weasel her way back into Mick's heart. As soon as he was trapped, she would have pounced and destroyed him. God, what an idiot he had been! He had seen the hidden springs of the trap, but he had stepped towards to all the same. How could he have been so stupid? He should have known all along that he would never be completely clear of Coraline. She was too devious a parasite to shake so easily. Even after the divorce, she still managed to keep her claws clamped onto him. Strangely, he didn't know if he was thrilled or horrified to realize Coraline was still alive. All he could think about now was Beth. He just could not shake the growing feeling of fear in his stomach that Beth was in grave danger.

Mick threw the picture on the floor. The truth that Morgan was Coraline did not explain where Beth was. Or did it? He nudged her computer out of the way with his hand. There had to be something – she had to have left some kind of trail of breadcrumbs to follow. He only prayed that she hadn't tried to sneak into the sleeping cobra's den. She had no idea how deadly Coraline's brand of poison could be to her victims.

The screensaver on Beth's screen dissolved as soon as Mick moved her laptop. He glanced at the sudden change of the screen and stopped in his tracks. A single picture was on the screen, but it was a thousand times worse than any ancient snapshot from the 50's. The picture was of Coraline's old home – the mansion of her dreams – and his nightmares. Seeing it caused Mick's heart to drop to the floor. Beth knew the truth about Morgan…which meant she was going to investigate. If Coraline knew Beth had discovered her secret – she would be killed before she could even let out a scream.

Mick swore and raced towards the apartment door. He could only pray that Coraline had gone to Morgan's apartment in the city instead of her ancient home in the hills. Hopefully she was biding her time there – not discovering Beth in her former mansion. Yet, Mick had a sick feeling in his heart that it was already too late. The feeling of dread and danger poked and prodded inside of his stomach till he thought he would be sick. Even as he raced through the streets of LA, he felt he was racing against the shadows. He could almost hear Fate ticking away – counting down the last hours of Beth's life. Mick swore again and pushed the gas pedal closer to the floor. All he could do now was drive like a madman through the hills and hope he wasn't too late. He couldn't be – there was just no other option. Coraline would _not_ take his one reason for living away from him. It just was not possible. For the first time in 50 years, Mick began to pray.


	6. Chapter 6

Mick found the long familiar driveway to Coraline's mansion sooner than he expected. He hadn't bothered slowing down on the curves – he still had the route memorized by heart. He had lost track long ago of the nights he had come crawling back to his ex-wife, his body racked with passionate lust and need – a junkie looking for a fix. Now, a thousand different emotions assaulted him as he drove towards the glass mansion. Above them all, fear reigned. His imagination was beginning to play awful tricks on his senses. He imagined he could actually hear the sweet beat of Beth's heart…slowing to nothing. _Keep it together_, he thought with a growl.

"I'm coming, Beth," Mick breathed, squealing to a stop behind Coraline's mustang. The ebony car was parked directly behind Beth's Neon. Goddamnit – Coraline was here after all. It was as if all his worst nightmares had come true in one final burst of imagination. "Hang in there. I'm coming for you."

He jumped out of his Buick without bothering to open the door. As he darted towards the house at vampire speed, he could already tell something was wrong. The picture just didn't look right, as if the tint had been adjusted on the TV set. The house was too dark and too quiet. The only life that seemed to radiate from the house was from the small square window on the top floor. Its harsh white light beamed down at him like a mocking Chestershire cat grin. _You're too late_, Mick St. John, it seemed to call to him. Mick ignored the accusing light and headed for the front door.

Mick kicked it easily in, not even bothering for a surprise attack. If Coraline had captured Beth in some way, then Coraline would know he would try and rescue Beth. She had been lurking around him long enough over the past few weeks to pick up his feelings towards Beth. Hell, she had taunted him about it often enough. Maybe if he had just admitted straight away that he was in love with Beth then Coraline would have given up her plan of revenge. Doubtful. She would have only hurt Beth that much sooner.

With a growl, Mick stomped towards the elegant white staircase. He had morphed into his vampire visage, ready to fight Coraline once again. Yet, as soon as he placed one foot on the stairs, the vampire facade melted away with a flash.

"Beth," Mick cried out involuntarily. He unconsciously sank to his knees at the bottom of the stairs. Soul shattering pain gutted him and he cried out Beth's name again. Why hadn't he noticed it before? He was too late – the scent of Beth's blood was everywhere.

His dead heart throbbed inside his chest as he inhaled the smell of summer sand and succulent peaches – the essence of Beth. It had permeated every inch of the house. There was no way the scent of her blood could have filled such a large area – unless Coraline had spilled every drop of that sweet liquid of life.

Mick struggled to breathe as his head spun wildly. He felt close to vomiting or passing out. Panic, fear and despair knocked into his brain over and over again as he inhaled Beth's scent with each new breath he took. There was so much blood – there was no way – she couldn't be still alive. The thought that Coraline might have won and that Beth was…gone…caused Mick to finally dry heave next to the stairs.

One of the many talents of a vampire was that he or she could glimpse the recent past in the aroma of spilled blood. It was a trait Mick had found useful in all his years as a private detective. Even when the criminals weren't vampires, he could usually _see_ how the victims were murdered. It didn't necessarily mean he could see the suspect, but he could usually pick up enough to get a head start.

Never before had Mick cursed his very existence as when he began to flash on what happened to Beth that night.

Awful, grainy images burned themselves into Mick's brain as he inhaled Beth's blood. They flickered past his mind's eye like snapshots in a serial killer's scrap book. Coraline lunging at Beth as she lay trapped in a small room. Coraline sinking her fangs eagerly into Beth's neck. Beth's beautiful face contorted and twisted in pain. Coraline slicing into Beth's arm with a dagger and licking the blood off the blade. Beth screaming over and over again, tears pouring out of her tightly shut eyes. Coraline alternately cutting and beating Beth. Beth wriggling in pain, her small body nearly reaching its pain threshold. Beth's mouth opening to silently scream his name.

"Oh, God! Beth! No!" Mick choked out as he slammed his fists into his eyes. How could he have been so fucking slow? Why didn't he just find her straight after work? He could have stopped her from following Coraline and the witch would never have captured her.

"Beth, I'm so sorry," Mick whimpered, lowering his head to sob on the stairs. He had utterly failed her. The one person he had vowed to protect for the rest of her life. The one person he would never have seen hurt for all the world. The one person he had been afraid to let in to close for fear that she might actually love him. The one person who's love gave him a degree of happiness he hadn't felt since he was human. The one person who completed and complimented him like no other – his soul mate.

Abruptly Mick raised his head off the stairs. He forced a few deep breaths into his lungs, trying to hold himself together. The flickering images from the past had finally slowed to a stop and yet, Mick saw no final image of a dead Beth. Only Beth in pain and in misery. That was enough to make him want to cut his own heart out of his chest. At the same time, it was enough to give him hope. Beth was still alive and he was sitting her like a coward on the stairs. Coraline had tried to destroy the one thing that she knew Mick cared more about than life itself. He was about to return the favor by chopping off her goddman head.

"You stupid witch," he growled and bolted up the stairs. All he could do was think of Beth, his heart and soul was full of her. It was as if she were calling out to him – even passed out in pain. God, did she cry for help when Coraline attacked her? The idea that her screams for help had fallen on deaf ears was enough to cause his stomach to heave again. Too many layers of guilt and pain collided in his head as tears again filled his eyes. God, why couldn't he have been faster on the goddamn highway?

Cautiously, Mick moved towards the small room at the end of the top hallway. He could smell Coraline's rotten scent mixed in with Beth's sweet essence. She would be lurking somewhere in the house. He had to get a grip on himself before he faced his ex-wife. He padded his pockets as he walked towards the room. Damn it, he could have at least remembered to pack a stake or two before he left his house that day.

The attic door stood slightly ajar as if the room was beckoning to him. The white light of the room spilled onto the hallway, painting a harsh bright arrow onto the carpet. Mick stepped towards it, his hands clenched into white knuckled fists of hate. The hairs stood out on the back of his neck – danger and Beth straight ahead. He took another deep breath. He didn't know what sight he expected to find in that room, but he had to stay in control. He wouldn't do Beth any good if he was killed before he could get to her.

The feeling of desperate panic kneaded his heart as he slowly pushed the door open with one hand. The first thing he noticed was how white the room was. The lights could have been fluorescent in how they reflected the stark, sterile quality of what looked to be a bedroom. Stuffed animals were strewn all over the room like forgotten memories. They all seemed to accuse them with their black button eyes as he surveyed the room. It didn't long before his eyes fell with horror on the figure that lay sprawled on the floor beside the bed.

Utter horror and pain shot straight through Mick's heart as he saw Beth lying limp in a giant puddle of her own blood. She looked as still as a body on the slab in the morgue. A gallon of ice dropped into his veins as he took in the sight of all that blood. He stood rooted to the spot, unable to take his eyes away from the horrible sight. God, there was so much blood! It sparkled with ruby clarity as it slowly seeped further into the white shag carpet.

Mick sank to his knees as all strength abruptly left his body. Thoughts flew out of his brain as cruel grief cut off all reason from his mind. His mouth opened and closed in a vain attempt to find the words to speak. Blindly he crawled towards Beth's body, hoping beyond a hope there was still a heartbeat. There had to be one! She couldn't die on him now – not like this. Not when he had just realized how much he truly loved her.

Tears filled his blue-gray eyes as he ran a panicked hand through his hair. Shuddering, he tried to think of some way to help her. All the world around him had ceased to exist. There was now only Mick and Beth's body in front of him. There was only one purpose in his life – to save the woman he loved. Gently, he ran his hands up her blood covered jeans and the blood-soaked camisole. The wound on her neck was barley pumping blood now, the geyser of life had already been sprayed against the bedroom wall.

That small sign of life was enough to shock Mick awake from his frozen terror. He frantically grabbed a nearby sheet and immediately scrunched it into a ball. He moved closer to her and pressed the sheet roughly to her neck. With his other hand he checked to see if there were more wounds on her precious body. There were small cuts all over her body, a deep gash on her arm and her hand. Mick's stomach wrenched to see his Beth so broken and bloody.

Mick choked on a sob as he moved his face closer to Beth's. Her eyes remained closed, but he thought he could feel a tickle of breathe against his cheek. A whisper of the life that still remained inside of her beautiful body. She needed a hospital and a transfusion. Fuck it if people started asking questions about vampires. Beth needed help _now_. Besides, if she died, there wasn't a goddamn reason left for him to live on in this shitty cursed existence. Let the whole world chase him with pitchforks and torches – he wouldn't give a damn.

"Beth, honey, can you hear me? Do _not_ give up on me. I'm here, Beth. I'm not leaving you. I just need to get you out of here," he whispered near her face. With one hand still clamped on her neck, he tried to wiggle his other arm underneath her back. If only vampires could really fly, he thought miserably.

"Mick."

His heart lurched towards his knees as he recognized Beth's soft whisper. His eyes went back and forth over her face, looking for any sign of life. He furiously blinked back the tears as they threatened to steal his vision of her. His freehand moved back to brush some of the hair from her face. Luckily the expression on her face was one of peace, not of pain. Lord, how long did Coraline torture her, he wondered.

"Shhh. Don't talk, Beth," Mick ordered. "Save your strength. I'm going to get you to a hospital and –"

Beth began to struggle weakly in his arms. Mick's gut wrenched as he fought to hold himself together. It destroyed him side to see her in any kind of pain. Now, she was barely holding on. No - he could not fall apart now – Beth needed him. He pulled her struggling body closer to his chest to try and calm her. He tried to shush her again when her eyes fluttered open slightly. Mick found himself locked into her wondrous eyes of blue.

"Mick. She's still here," Beth gasped harshly. She managed to lift one hand to his arm to grip it with surprising strength. "She wants to kill you."

"And I will too."

Mick jerked his head towards the voice that came from the corner of the room. Coraline slowly unfolded her legs from underneath her like a cat and raised herself to a standing position. Blood – Beth's blood – was splattered all over Coraline's clothes and skin. A dagger dripped blood onto the carpet as she held it loosely in one hand. She grinned wickedly at him, licking her fangs with her tongue. Blood was still smeared across her chin as if she had eaten a bowl of spaghetti sauce. Anger boiled through Mick's veins as he stared at his undead ex-wife.

"Oh, don't you two make a pretty picture?" she cooed, licking her lips. Mick flinched at that movement which only caused Coraline to repeat it. "You should have told me she tasted so sweet. I feel like I'm already getting a cavity."

"Shut up, you bitch," Mick growled. He felt Beth collapse again in his arms, but the beat of her heart could still be heard. Unfortunately, it was only growing slower and slower with each passing second. The dying echo of her heart caused Mick to finally snap. He snarled at Coraline as his fangs descended and his eyes turned to an icy blue.

"You're such a softie, Mick. You always were with the humans. Do you know how easy it was to get back into your life? All I had to do was fake a blush and you were ready to fuck me into the ground. Do you know how easy it was for me to get you here? All I had to do was kidnap your sweetheart and you were ready to break down my door. Rather pathetic, Mick. You were ready to get into my pants today when this girl-"

"I said – _shut up_," Mick growled as he carefully placed Beth on the floor. He then quickly jumped to his feet and crouched into a fighting position.

"Oh, are we ready to play now, Mick?" Coraline cackled with glee. "I knew you missed me. It's just like the old days."

"No," Mick spit out. "This time I'll stay and watch you burn!"

With an animal roar of attack, Mick launched himself at Coraline. She grinned eagerly and jumped at him at the same time. Their bodies collided against each other as they fought to gouge, bite and scratch any body part they could reach. They knocked each other into the dresser, dented a hole in the wall and broke part of the attic window.

As Mick and Coraline fought like jungle cats to the death on one side of the room, life continued to pool slowly out of Beth. Mick's make-shift tourniquet had bloomed into a terrible scarlet carnation. As the vampires caused enough racket to wake the gods, Beth's heart continued to slow behind them. Its small heartbeat began to dwindle silently like the hands of a dying clock in a dusty parlor. Beth's prince had come to rescue her at last…only he was too late – and there would be no saving her this time.


	7. Chapter 7

Dying was a funny thing. No one really talked about it much, since no one actually came back to tell their final tales. Who cared anyway? Your life was finally over – let the other poor bastards figure things out on their own time.

It didn't take Beth long to pass out from Coraline's attack. She had tried to stay awake in some desperate attempt to save her strength and fight back. Instead, Coraline had sucked more and more blood out of her body until all movement had ceased to be possible. Beth had begun to float, her body nothing but bricks of clay. As the blood pooled around her, Beth's mind began to float as well. It wasn't as frightening or disturbing as it should have been. Instead, it was a peaceful feeling. She felt as if she were floating on a veil of mist, a waterfall pooling white capped water at her feet. A rather trippy idea, but it was better than thinking about the pain…or Mick.

As Beth floated in and out of consciousness, her mind seemed to float in and out of sanity. Dreams came to her twisted and blurred. They morphed into nightmares and back again without giving her time to respond. Friends and family floated before her – some close enough to touch, others only background shadows. Before she could try and lift her arm to touch them, they faded again into the mist. Scenes from her life passed her by as if gliding on different currents. She could only continue to float lightly in one direction over the falls. Meanwhile, her memories of life seemed to taunt and tease her as they crossed and re-crossed the path in front of her. She tried to reach out and grasp hold of one memory – one snippet of happiness that she could cherish forever when she finally went over the waterfalls – but they all remained elusive.

Mick flickered in and out of her memories like a phantom firefly. He kept popping in and out of her memories like a stubborn extra that refused to leave the set. He was in the outline of every memory and every dream as if he had been following her all of her life. She knew he had, but not in every single shadow. As she watched the memories fade and twist into the next, she felt that if she had only moved her head a fraction of an inch, she would have seen him watching her. She would have seen her guardian angel and she could have spoken to him sooner. She could have been with him longer. Maybe if she had physically met him years earlier they would have finally been able to talk. He would have trusted her enough to believe her when she thought Morgan was a fraud.

"Oh, Mick," she heard herself gasp as her lips remained frozen. A new kind of pain gutted her heart. She thought Coraline had wrenched it out of her chest. Instead, Beth realized her heart was merely breaking – shattering for the one man she had loved all of her life.

It was all her fault! She shouldn't have gone after Coraline without at least an army legion to back her up. If she hadn't been so goddamn stubborn, she wouldn't have gotten caught by Coraline. She wouldn't be lying in a pool of her own blood as bait for the man she loved. She thought she could almost hear him speaking to her even now. It was hard to tell what was real and what was illusion as the mists carried her further towards the waterfall.

_"Beth, honey, can you hear me? Do _not_ give up on me. I'm here, Beth. I'm not leaving you. I just need to get you out of here_."

"Mick?" Beth blurted out. This time her lips moved with her as she spoke his name. The waterfall rushed towards her with alarming clarity. The sound of gallons of rushing water was now blinding her ears. Suddenly, Beth could feel a pressure on her neck. She could sense a presence next to her, caressing her cheek. She was still alive. And Mick – was he here?

"_Shhh. Don't talk Beth. Save your strength. I'm going to get you to a hospital and –"_

Mick was here. The fact that she could feel his arm against her neck, his knee by her waist, his arm on her other side, jerked Beth back to her senses. Spine shattering pain racked her body, starting from the bite Coraline had taken from her neck. Along with the pain came a sudden rush of love and horror. Her heart leapt to find Mick had come to rescue her at last – then lurched when she remembered Coraline was waiting to spring her trap. She had to warn him.

Ignoring the shooting bolts of pain that rocked her body, Beth tried to sit up. Her arms and legs struggled to remember what to do as she felt one of Mick's arms surround her back. She tried to open her eyes, but the lids felt weighted down with lead. He had to get away from her. Coraline would kill him and she couldn't bear that. She had to warn him to run away.

Finally, Beth felt she had summoned enough strength to wrench open her eyelids. The most incredible picture was in front of her. Mick's sweet face filled her vision. If only she had the strength to reach up and touch him. He looked so worried and frightened. Enough of that. She had to warn him about Coraline so he could get out of the house.

"Mick. She's still here," Beth gasped, her voice thick and harsh in her ears. "She wants to kill you"

Mick's lips parted in response when Coraline's caramel voice invaded Beth's senses.

"And I will to"

Beth felt her body shudder and she collapsed back onto Mick's arm. All of her sudden strength vanished from her body. There was no use. She was too late. Coraline had found Mick. She would kill him quickly and she would enjoy every moment. Beth could only hope now that she would meet him again one day. Someone so pure and good as Mick couldn't be snatched away from her forever.

The pain of her body built pressure into her brain until she felt she had swallowed a bomb full of metal spikes. Sounds seemed to pierce her ear drums and any pressure on her body felt like a cut of a knife. This time Beth didn't fight the darkness as she passed out. She let herself float comfortably back towards the waterfall. She didn't watch the memories as they faded and pulsed in front of her. Instead, she closed her eyes and let herself finally fall towards the giant unknown abyss below the roaring waterfall.


	8. Chapter 8

The battle with Coraline ended quicker than Mick would have anticipated. He had fought against her as he had never fought before, completely turning towards his vampire side. He lost himself in the hate and anger and madness that were a vampire's hidden flaws. Pulsing with such darkness, it was easy to block out other sights and sounds. He saw only his hate for Coraline and his desire to destroy her once and for all.

Too bad the little vamp had a good 200 years on him. She was always just a shade quicker in her dodges and blocks and a shade harder with her punches and kicks. After one final tackle, Coraline seemed to have ceded the fight as she flipped out of his strangle hold. She kicked out the remaining glass of the attic window and launched herself into the air. Mick threw himself towards the window intent on catching her. Instead, only the dark grass greeted him as he looked outside. The fleeing figure of Coraline was nowhere to be found.

"Sonofabitch!" Mick roared and kicked the wall in front of him. He could smell Coraline's once intoxicating blood all over his clothes and body. It felt as slick as oil against his skin. He had been so close to finally killing her – and yet she had slipped through his fingers once again. She was eternally a phantom of the night, always just out of reach. Yet, she wouldn't be on the run for long. Mick wasn't about to risk letting her run free this time. There was only one route permitted to Coraline now – and that was the road paved with fire that ran straight to hell.

Keyed up as he was, it took Mick a minute to realize something was wrong. With his vampire senses, he could hear a dog barking half a mile away, feel the night breeze from Minnesota on his skin and watch a flea jump off a cat. That extra power and strength meant nothing when he realized how quiet the room was behind him. He could only hear his ragged breathing and the soft breeze shaking the leaves in the trees near the house.

"Beth!" Mick cried, his vampire side morphing back into the human one as his dead heart poured ice cold adrenaline into his soul. He dove for the floor beside Beth, scooping her immediately into his arms. He pressed his head against her chest, listening as intently as an expert piano turner. He sobbed a sigh of relief. The heart was still beating, the blood was still circulating…but very, very slowly. Most of her blood had already stained the carpet around her a dark crimson – there wasn't much blood left in her body to circulate. He needed to get her to a hospital – _now_. Never mind the fact that she would probably die before he made it outside the house. He just couldn't give up on her. He had to try and get her help.

"Stay with me, Beth," Mick breathed, kissing the side of her head. "I'm just going to carry you to the car, ok? We can't wait for the ambulance."

As Mick tried to gently ease her into his arms so he could stand, the sudden movement seemed to bring Beth out of unconsciousness. Her eyes fluttered open and she gasped for air. Mick froze beside her. He quickly set her gently back onto the floor as if she were made of tissue paper. His hands never left her body as he searched her face for any signs of pain. Instead he was rewarded with a beautiful sight. Her sky blue eyes were wide open and looking up at him without pain or misery. They were the eyes of someone who had clearly seen the door to the other side…and was ready to take that final step though it. They were the eyes of someone saying goodbye.

"No, Beth," Mick choked out. He raised a hand to caress her face. "Stay with me. I'll get some blood – get you a transfusion. Or I'll carry you to the hospital myself. I can't really fly, but I can run pretty damn fast. I'd take my car, but I can't let you go. We-"

"Shhh," Beth whispered, cutting off Mick's rambling. His voice cut off with a _snap_ as if his tongue had been severed from his mouth. He stared at her as new misery filled his body. It flowed through him now like a molten river of darkness, freezing him to the core. He couldn't move, afraid any movement would shatter the sweet angel beside him. He could only watch in numb horror as the love of his life slowly slipped out of his fingers.

"Mick, I'm dying," Beth whispered. "It's alright. I don't feel any pain now."

"No, no, you're not dying," Mick croaked with a fierce shake of his head. "You can't die. You can't leave me."

"I don't want to leave you," she cried out weakly. Her face puckered briefly as a few tears escaped her eyes. Mick watched them trail down her cheeks and he felt his own eyes water in response. "You've been with me my entire life. I've never felt more safe than when I'm in your arms."

"Beth, please-" Mick begged, letting his tears fall uninhibited now. He felt Beth shakily raise her hand to his cheek. She wiped off his tears with butterfly fingers. Mick grabbed her quivering hand and rained kisses onto her palm. Beth closed her eyes briefly as if savoring the taste of his skin on hers.

"I love you, Mick," Beth whispered, her voice cracking. Mick winced internally as her beautiful face crumpled again in sadness. "I don't want to leave you. I love you. I want to be with you. Why couldn't I have told you before? Why did I waste time pretending and lying? Why was I so afraid?"

"Shh," Mick whispered, pulling her into his arms again. His heart echoed her own thoughts. Why couldn't he have just told her how he felt? He had been a fool to keep her at arms length all this time. She was safest in his arms and by his side. God, why had he wasted so much time? He could have spent it with her, instead of brooding in the dark like an immortal shadow. She was the stars in his night sky, the life in the blood he drank. Why hadn't he realized it until this night?

"Oh, God," he sobbed as he rocked her gently in his arms. The tears fell like molten rain from his eyes, burning with the pain of grief. They scalded his face as they trailed down his cheeks and dropped onto Beth's cornflower hair. "I love you, Beth. I love you so much. I'm so sorry I wasn't faster. I'm so sorry."

He buried his head into her neck, breathing in the essence of her skin. He lost himself in the woman he loved, letting her tantalizing aura wash over him in waves. He lost himself in the summer sun, the warm waves of the ocean and the scent of ripe peaches. He immersed himself so deeply in her essence that he almost didn't hear her next words.

"Then turn me."

Mick raised his head with a snap. His eyes looked on Beth with new horror. He _couldn't_ – he _wouldn't_ turn her into a monster.

"No," he cried, stubbornly shaking his head.

Beth smiled softly, her face as calm as an angel. Shakily her fingers fluttered over his skin again, freezing him where he sat.

"Please, Mick?" Beth begged, tired tears collecting like dew in her eyes. She tried weakly to sit up, as if a final show of strength would show how serious she was. Mick could only halfheartedly stop her as he stared at her – his body numb from shock. "I don't want to leave you. Not now. Please, I want to do this. I want to be with you. I don't want you to be alone. I love you. Do you hear me? _I love you_. Please, turn me. _Turn me_."

Mick stared into her bottomless blue eyes. He read her sincerity and her love straight from her soul. Her love for him practically gushed out of her from every pore in her body. He saw the humanity that she would leave behind her – the food, the friends, the sunlight. He saw the future they could have – two immortals together forever as one couple united in eternal love. It was something he had only dared to dream about the last few months. There was a reason vampires were solitary creatures – it was hard to live for an eternity. It was harder still to find someone to live it with you.

Beth continued to stare up at him, her blue eyes burning with stubborn determination. Yet, Mick could feel how weak her body was becoming. If he was going to do anything – now was the time. He opened his mouth to find some excuse – then realized he had never been able to deny her anything. He was also just so damn tired of denying himself.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and summoned his inner vampire. As soon as he felt his fangs distend, he raised a hand to his lips. He briefly noticed his skin was coated with Coraline and Beth's blood. How fitting – blood from the woman who made him a monster and blood from the woman who made him a human. Shaking away all his fears and doubts, he grazed his fangs against the skin of his palm. Instantly thick dark blood oozed out of the cut. It ran down his fingers, the dark ruby a contrast to the drying burgandy on his hand.

"Just drink then," Mick choked out. He raised his already healing hand to Beth's mouth. She shakily lapped up his blood, swallowing it quickly. Mick hated how quickly she had taken his blood, hated how his body thrilled at the touch of her tongue. It was as if she already had the taste for the vampire lifestyle.

"How long?" Beth whispered, her eyelids beginning to flutter closed.

"Just rest for now," Mick gasped, as he slowly laid Beth onto the floor next to him.

"Thank you," she breathed. Before the darkness took her completely again, his vampire ears caught her barely audible last words: "I love you."

Mick raised his knees up to his chest and planted his elbows on his knees. His hands twisted into fists in his hair as he finally let his despair overwhelm him. Wretched sobs violently shook his body and he slowly began to rock himself. The one act he swore he would never perform, he did to the woman he loved. The monster turned the mortal into a monster. A demon stole an angel from the heavens.

As the hours melted into one another, Beth slowly died beside him. Mick could only continue to weep, his sobs the only sound in the quiet glass mansion. He cried for the man he once was and the betrayal that had transformed him. He cried for Beth and the humanity she had sacrificed for someone so undeserving. He cried for the utter selfish joy that he felt knowing Beth was now forever his love.

Ultimately, he cried because he hadn't been able to stop destiny after all. The minute he thought he had it tamed by keeping Beth in his life, it had twisted like a wild bird in his hands – causing him to kill Beth to save her.


End file.
